Improvement in cotton-gins



F. DURAND.

Cotton Gin.

Patehted Feb. 24, 1863.

N. PETERS, mammo ram Waahinghm. u. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT Trice.

FR-ANQOIS DURAND,

OF PARIS, FRANCE.

IMPROVEMENT |N COTTON-GINS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 37,7 3, dated February24, 1863.

To aZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANQOIS DURAND, of Paris, in the Empire of France,have invented an Improved Cotton-Gin; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full and exact description thereof, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings.

The invention relates to an improved cotton gin or apparatus forcleansing raw cotton of the seeds.

In the annexed drawings, Figures 1 and 3 respectively represent a sideelevation and a plan view of my improved cotton-gin, while Fig. 2 showsa longitudinal sectional view of some of its principal parts.

,In these three figures corresponding parts are indicated by the sameletters of reference.

The apparatus consists of a strong frame of wood, cast-iron, or othersuitable material,

- 7 formed of two side parts or cheeks, a and a,

kept parallel to each other by suitable crossstays. b is the main arboror d living-shaft, receiving motion from any suitable prime-mover, andprovided for this purpose at one end with a fly-wheel, c, and at theopposite end with loose and fast pulleys d and d. e is an endless clothor feed-apron on which is laid the raw cotton or cotton-bolls from whichthe seeds are to be separated, the feeding or delivery of the bolls fromthis apron taking place by means of the revolution of two feed-rollers,f and f, covered with india-rubber or other suitable elastic material,which rollers in rotating suitably press the cotton-bolls for drawingthe same forward, while the india-rubber coating freely on this axis f,the curved or short arm.

9 of which lever is at regular intervals depressed by the effect of apin, h, (projecting from the outside of an arm, j, turning freely on themain arbor 1),) thereby lifting the op posite arm 9 causing a-curvedclick or pawl, 9 one end of which is connected to the arm 9, to takewith its opposite end the teeth of the ratchet-wheel g, thus causingthis latter to advance for one step; after which the counterweighthcarries the arm g down to its original position. The ratchetwheel g, andconsequently the feed-roller f, fixed on the same axis f", are thuscaused to rotate with a stopby-step motion commanded by that of the pinh, while by the effect of friction the upper feed-roller, f, is causedto revolve in the opposite direction of that of the lower one, f, asshown by the arrows in Fig. 3. The cotton, after having passed betweenthe rollers f and f, is taken hold of by the revolving rollers t and 'i,which latter should be made of metal or any other suitable or hardresisting material, as these rollers are intended to crush betweenthem'the cotton-seeds. The journals or ends of these feed and otherrollers f f and it" turn in suitable brackets, those for the rollers z isituated in two east-iron arms, j, turning freely round the main arborb, and serving at the same time as bearers for a sheet-metal drum, is,fixed thereon, so as to cause this drum to follow the circular toand-fro or reciprocating motion of the said arms j in the manner asindicated by the arrows marked 1 and 2 in Fig. 2, the said reciprocatingmotion being communicated to the arms j by means of two rods, Z and Z,connected to the pins on, projecting from the lower end of these arms j,the opposite end of the rod Z being connected to the pin m of a wheel,q, and that of the rod Z to the pin on of the disk q, both wheel anddisk being fixed to thesame revolving arbor (f, the wheel q receivingmotion (by means of the connecting-wheel 12 from the wheel 1), fixed onthe main arbor b. The reciprocating motion imparted to the arms j willthus be communicated to the drum 7c and to the rollers i and i,revolving in a corresponding slit in this drum, so as to cause theserollers to be moved to and fro from their original position opposite thefeed-rollersf and fto that shown in red ink in Fig. 2, opposite thehelicoidal revolving brush a, the latter receiving its revolving motionfrom the wheel 1) of the main arbor by means of connecting-wheel p andthe pinion p, fixed on the arbor of the brush a.

In order to allow of better observing the internal parts of the machineand avoid confusion, the wheels 9 p p, as also those 9 and q,

are indicated in red ink, in Fig. 1, by their circles of revolution.

On the arbor b is fixed concentrically with the drum is another drum,1", of cast-iron or other suitable resisting material, provided at oneend with a flange, s, and round its outer surface with a series ofradial equidistant metal blades, 15, which latter, during the revolutionof the drum '1" in the direction indicated by the arrow 3. will in rapidsuccession strike or beat the cotton protruding from between the rollers43 and i, and thus cleanse the same entirely from the seeds, while whenfinally the cotton is in this manner arrived opposite the brush n, therevolution of this latter will cause the cleansed cotton to be projectedon the inclined board 0, whereas the seeds will during the advancingmotion of the rollersi and 2" escape through the open or lower part, 70,of the drum 7;. I

The rollers i and i, while participating of the circular reciprocatingmotion of the drum 7c, receive at the same time a suitable revolvingmotion by the following means: The spindle of the rolleri is providedwith a pinion,

. x, and that of the roller L with another pinion,

w, in gear with that 00. These pinions are of thesame diameter but ofdifferent width. The widest one, x, also is in gear with an indentedsector, 1), securely fixed against the inside of the check a of theframe of themachine, by which means, when the rollers i and i areadvancing toward the brush a, the roller 13 will be caused to revolve inone direction, and, when retrograding toward the feed-rollersf and f, inthe opposite direction, whereas the roller a will constantly turn in theopposite direction of that of the roller vi. Consequently, whenadvancing toward the brush, the rollers 13 and u" will carry toward thislatter a suitable quantity of cotton taken from the feed-rollers f andf, and allow this cotton to be taken off by the said brush, while,during the progress of the rollers z" and i, the cotton-seeds, havingalready been crushed in passing through these rollers, will be easilyremoved or expelled from the cotton by the incessant beating of theblades 1, after which the cleansed cotton will purpose set forth.

be caused to fall on the inclined delivery-board 0, whereas the seedswill fall through the open or lower part, 70', of the drum 70.

Instead of one pair of rollers i and i, two or more pairs might beprovided round the pe riphery of the drum k; or this drum, instead of acircular to-and-fro motion, might have a suitable revolving motionimparted to it, and receive the cotton-bolls from a suitable hopper,while the cleansed cotton might be delivered at one end of the drum byahelical screw or other suitable means. Having thus described andparticularly ascertained the nature of my invention and the manner inwhich the same is or may be carried into effect, I would observe, inconclusion, that I do not confine or restrict myself to the precisedetails of the above described and illustrated mechanical arrangement,as many variations may be made therefrom without deviating from theprinciples or main features of the invention; but

What I consider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as myinvention, is-

1. In combination with the feeding rolls and brush, the carrying andcrushing rolls '5 v3, for taking the cotton from the feed-rolls to thebrush, and at the same time crushing the seed therein, substantially asdescribed.

2. In combination with the traversing and rotating carrying-rolls i t,the intermittentlyfeeding rolls f f so that while the rolls 2' 13 arenot receiving cotton the feed-rolls shall be in a state of rest,substantially as described. a-

3. In combination with the traversing and rotating rolls 'i i, the drum7c, and revolving beaters or blades 1?, made and operating to gether,substantially as described, and for the FRANQOIS DURAND.

\Vitnesses:

DREYFOUS, J AMES WV. BROOKS.

